Poll suggests support for reopening schools is rising

A new opinion poll has reported that public confidence in the full reopening of schools in September seems to be growing.

YouGov says that support for the full-time reopening of schools in England and Wales has risen from 57 per cent to 65 per cent over the past three weeks. However the opinion poll also shows 19 per cent of adults opposed to reopening and 16 per cent are unsure. On 4 August, the latter two figures sat at 25 per cent and 18 per cent, suggesting less scepticism.

Based on almost 3,300 people in England, Wales and Scotland, the survey indicates a shift in attitudes towards backing the full-time return to school, after the long disruption of the lockdown.

Chris Curtis, political research manager at the polling firm, says the public seems to back the idea that reopening schools should be the ‘top priority’. However, he also said that the rising support coincides with an increasingly negative view of how the government is handling education.

He said: "The proportion of Britons who think schools should fully reopen after the summer holidays has increased to 65 per cent, while at the same time the level of Brits who think the government is handling the issue of education badly is steadily increasing - up 15 percentage points since last week.”

Breaking down the poll results, there is below-average support for going back to school among the less affluent and younger. Meanwhile, the strongest support for reopening schools is among those who are older, in higher-income brackets and in the south of England. It is also worth noting that the poll was of adults, not necessarily parents of school aged children.